Scientists claim to have expanded the applications for Microsoft's Kinect to include a more precise approach to X-ray imaging, which they say can limit exposure to radiation by measuring the thickness of a subject's body parts.

MIT researchers have developed a way to replace complex, expensive medical imaging equipment with much less expensive consumer equipment and a little bit of fancy math. The technique uses technology like the Microsoft Kinect paired with sophisticated mathematical modeling.

Virtual Dementia Experience, is a virtual reality system created at Australia's Swinburne University. It provides caregivers with an interactive simulation of what it's like to suffer from dementia, so they can better understand what their patients are experiencing.

Researchers have hacked a Kinect sensor to overcome a symptom of Parkinson's disease known as Freezing of Gait (FOG), where the sufferer's muscles can freeze mid-stride, making them feel like their feet are glued to the ground or resulting in them falling over.

The Microsoft Kinect may be facing some competition. The Motion Contrast 3D Scanning (MC3D) camera should also be economical, while offering higher-quality imaging and the ability to operate in sunlight.

Opaque Multimedia has combined an Oculus Rift headset with Microsoft Kinect 2 motion tracking to make it possible for every Tom, Dick, and Sally on the planet to get a first-hand (virtual) taste of life on – or rather just outside – the International Space Station.

A video game called Rover that was developed by the US military uses an Xbox Kinect is being used to help train dog handlers to detect subtle cues from canines that are used to sniff out buried improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Emboldened by the positive reaction to IllumiRoom, Microsoft Research has unveiled RoomAlive; which turns your living room into an interactive experience. This is the latest proof-of-concept prototype which could signal the direction in which video games might be heading in the future.

After Microsoft started offering the Xbox One without the Kinect sensor earlier this year to better complete with Sony's PS4, it was only a matter of time before a standalone Kinect was released. That time has now arrived, with a standalone Kinect to be available from October 7.